Article Sidebar

Trending

Article content

Politics can be so cruel.

If you don’t believe me, ask Don Atchison. He gave his heart and soul to the city through four terms as mayor and, boom, he’s out on the street, just like that. I’ve seen troublemakers removed more gently from a bar.

Best case, Atchison would not have run for a fifth term and retired in office. He was a good enough mayor for four terms, which is very good indeed, but five was stretching it. Five begins to look like forever and no one is that good. But Atchison was so invested in the job, it never would have occurred to him not to run.

He loved being mayor. After 13 years, he still loved it more than any political leader I know of loves his job. Wild horses could not have stopped him from running for a fifth term. Had he won this time, he would have run again in 2020 and beyond. He eventually would have challenged Paul Biya, president of Cameroon for the last 41 years, as the world’s longest-serving, non-hereditary leader. Atchison would be mayor for life or until he was defeated. Voters knew what they had to do.

Unlike president-for-life Biya, however, Atchison was no dictator. He didn’t consolidate power in the mayor’s office. He didn’t get into unseemly public scraps, not with his colleagues, not with the administration, not with the province or the feds. I do not recall him complaining, ever, about Saskatoon not getting its share. Council under his leadership was relentlessly collegial, all but undisturbed by the clash of ideas or personalities. No one ever called him dramatic. If he didn’t thrill us, we always knew he never would do anything hurt the city.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Atchison’s background in hockey should have prepared him for this, but probably didn’t. Every player eventually is removed and replaced, even the popular, loyal veterans. Teams have to renew themselves to stay competitive. Cities, too. Voters understand this better than incumbents ever do.

In spite of his somewhat uninspirational style, Atchison oversaw major projects including River Landing, the Circle Drive south bridge and interchanges and the new art gallery, while keeping debt at a manageable level. Except with the transit union, the city enjoys apparent labour peace. Incoming Mayor Charlie Clark takes the bridge of a ship with dry bilges and in good running order.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

It was so long ago Atchison didn’t mention it during the campaign, but the best thing he ever did for this city, I think, was to preside over the restoration of Saskatoon’s police service. When he came in as mayor in 2003, city police were in disgrace and disarray. Public confidence was shaken by a succession of scandals, bungled investigations, runaway break-ins and a police union openly hostile to the administration. As mayor and chair of the police commission, Atchison mustered the requisite support to clean house. Saskatoon now has first-class policing. The public trust, under Atchison, was restored. There is not much a mayor can do that is more important.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

I have seen the improvements for myself, on multiple occasions. One such was a murder trial I attended a couple of years ago. The investigation that led to the conviction not only was thoroughly professional, but, in at least one respect, brilliant. Police tricked the perpetrator into leading them to his wife’s body, hidden in a rural drainage culvert, by making him think the body might have been found. His was unable to resist a visit to the site to see for himself, with a police GPS tracker concealed under his vehicle. Irrefutable forensics clinched the conviction. Investigations I had observed under previous administrations more often were characterized by incompetence or worse.

Policing hardly came up during the campaign, which tells you a lot, except to the extent that carding was a contentious issue. Clark was unequivocally against carding. He deems the practice to smack of racism since it often is indigenous youth asked by police to show identification. Atchison, by comparison, appeared less than progressive by justifying carding as a useful tool for police.

That’s not why he was defeated, but it suggests why he was defeated. For a mayor who appears less than progressive, four terms was enough.

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.